Barely one month after a special commission rolled out its vision for a new and revitalized fairgrounds in Langley, an opposition group of longtime residents and fair volunteers has formed to fight the proposal.
It’s doubtful this was the reception officials had hoped for, but it should come as no surprise. The community has a great investment in the existing fairground — few, if any, lifelong residents don’t have childhood memories at the fair — and for many, this bold and ambitious plan seems to have come out of nowhere.
The steering committee involved in designing this vision of a bright and prosperous future fairgrounds was extensive, and included a host of different government entities, but it missed one essential element — broad and extensive public participation. It’s understandable and common for elected officials to want to come up with a general framework for a proposal before approaching constituents.
It’s equally understandable, however, that the public would react with suspicion and skepticism when suddenly hit with a $10 million project that proposes so much change to a beloved community asset. Perhaps this is one project that should have included the public from the outset.
The plan itself also seems to beg many questions, and makes big promises with few guarantees other than those of a paid consultant.
The draft strategic plan, prepared by Anacortes-based Landerman-Moore Associates and available for review at www.whidbeyislandfair.com, claims that after a 10-year build out and sustainability period the new Island Event Center’s annual on-site revenue activity would top $8 million, and more than $3.3 million in gross retained revenue. Those numbers are enough to make anyone stop and scratch their head.
There are many other elements of the strategic plan that deserve praise, and members of the steering committee who volunteered many hours on the proposal should be thanked for their hard work and desire to improve the existing fairgrounds.
Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, a member of the steering committee, wrote a letter to the editor last week addressing some of these questions. Specifically, she touted the plan as a flexible road map, one that would accommodate course corrections along the way should revenue projections fall short. Let us hope so.
A desire to make the fairgrounds more sustainable is something everyone can appreciate and should get behind, but as the formation of this opposition group makes clear, the public is very much interested in this proposal and many large questions have yet to be answered.
